


The Author and Her Muse

by swanqueenfic13



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AU, F/F, Red_Beauty_Trope_Fest, Sort of? - Freeform, Writer AU, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 16:09:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5592637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swanqueenfic13/pseuds/swanqueenfic13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Red Beauty AU! No curse, no magic, takes place in our world. Belle is an author struggling with writer's block. Ruby is the muse who sparks her imagination.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Author and Her Muse

Belle sighed as she entered the packed cafe. 

She had been travelling all day, and just wanted something to eat and a place to stay tonight. She had been driving around aimlessly, looking for inspiration to strike. As a writer, she had a lot of free time, but her deadline was approaching faster than she cared to admit, and her editor needed a new story from her. But writer’s block is a bitch, so Belle decided to go on a road trip, in hopes that inspiration would strike. She had driven through four different states in the Northeast before ending up in this little town in Maine.

“Can I get you something?” A voice asks, startling Belle out of her stupor. Belle rubs her eyes blearily before turning to face the waitress. She’s beautiful. Easily the most beautiful woman Belle has ever seen. Her skin is pale, but her hair is dark. Her hazel eyes seem to change color, shifting like the flames of a fire, warm and gentle. Her smile is easy, and Belle is distracted by the sharp point of her canines.

“Um, yeah,” Belle says after a moment. “Iced tea?”

“Sweetened?” The girl tilts her head, and seems to be teasing Belle. Belle doesn’t get the joke, but she likes to pretend she does.

“Unsweetened, please.”

“Where are you from?” the girl asks curiously. Belle sighs, getting this question often.

“I live in New York, but I grew up in Australia.” The waitress nods, her grin broadening.

“I’ve always wanted to travel. Australia seems like a really cool place, and it’s always been on my bucket list. But, there’s just too much holding me here. Sometimes I just wanna cut all ties, change my name, dye my hair, and travel the world. Starting with Australia,” the waitress continues.

“Maybe I’ll give you a tour sometime,” Belle responds sleepily, putting her head on the table. The waitress just laughs and walks away.

 

Belle sits, sipping her iced tea, peoplewatching. This is the best way for her to break her writer’s block, and she tries to imagine the stories of people’s lives. The man in a suit walking with a cane is the mayor of the town, alone in life. The woman in jeans and a red leather jacket might be a single mother, based on the stray crayons and toys coming out of her purse when she goes for her wallet. The waitress is secretly a murderer.

No matter who she looks to, Belle keeps coming back to the waitress. Her eyes cling to the woman in her tight red jeans and simple white button down shirt. She has pulled her hair into a tight ponytail that swings when she walks, and it makes her look younger. She seems to have a magnetic personality, coaxing a smile out of even the most withdrawn and ornery customers. Belle finds herself hypnotized, and suddenly, a thought occurs to her.

_ I want to see the world. _ An image flashes in Belle’s head of the waitress standing in an airport.  _ Sometimes I just wanna cut all ties, change my name, dye my hair, and travel the world. _ She imagines a secret, a terrible, terrible secret that forces her to move. A murder. An accusation. An assault. An investigation. Belle pulls out her notebook and jots down everything she can think of. She has the plot. Now she just needs her protagonist. 

Belle glances around stealthily, finding the waitress leaning against the counter, laughing with someone who must be a friend. She throws her head back as she laughs, and maybe it’s the lighting, but her cheeks look impeccable. Her jawline seems to straighten out, and she looks like a regal, beautiful warrior. Belle wants to remember this moment, remember this woman. She pulls out her phone, carefully angling her phone to take a picture of her. 

_ Unfortunately _ , while Belle’s angling was perfectly stealthy, the flash on her camera was not. The waitress stops laughing, looking around very confused to find Belle’s camera still flashing as it faces her. Belle frantically tries to put the phone down, but the waitress is already walking over, a confused smile on her face.

“Instagram or Snapchat?” she asks, a teasing note in her voice.

“Neither. Oh my god, I’m not a stalker, I swear,” Belle says quickly, embarrassed. “I just, I mean, I’m a writer, and I wanted to use you as a character and I needed to remember what you look like so I can get it right later, and-”

“Ooh! A writer?” the waitress interrupts, squealing.

“And I needed to get over my writer’s block, and you gave me an idea for a story. Is it, I mean, is it okay? Can I use your physical description? I don’t want to creep you out or anything,” Belle adds. 

“Two conditions,” the brunette smiles, sliding into the booth across from Belle. “First: if you use my physical description, might as well use all of me. My name, personality, anything you want. Ruby Lucas.” Belle smiles, reaching out to shake her hand.

“Nice to meet you Ruby Lucas. I’m Belle French,” she giggles.

“Wait, wait, wait. Belle French, author of  _ Heroes and Villains _ ?” Ruby asks, her jaw dropping. Belle squirms. That had been her first book to be published. It had been mildly popular for the first work from a college-aged author writing about realistic versions of fairy tales.

“Indeed I am,” Belle nods. Ruby’s eyes widen to an impossible size, and Belle flushes under the scrutiny.

“Okay, I’m adding a few conditions if you’re going to use me as a character,” Ruby says quickly, her own cheeks tinging pink. “I need you to sign my copy.  _ Need _ . Please.”

“I can do that.”

“Yes! Awesome! Okay, um, also a selfie with you would make my entire life. And, like, can you tell me your idea for your next book? What is my character like?”

“It’s not a concrete plot, yet. It was just this… flash. I was thinking about how you said you wanted to travel the world, really. And I thought about, like, what if you  _ had _ to leave? Like, something really bad happened?”

“Like a murder!” Ruby suggests enthusiastically.

“Bye Ruby,” someone calls out. Ruby waves without taking her eyes off of Belle.

“Oh my God, I can be an accidental murderer! Like, like, I’m a werewolf, and I  _ eat _ my boyfriend,” Ruby giggles. Belle bites her bottom lip. It’s not a bad idea, really.

“Is that a condition?” Belle teases.

“No, just a suggestion,” Ruby sighs. “ _ But _ , I do have one more condition.”

“Go for it,” Belle offers.

“Go on a date with me.” Belle chokes on her iced tea. Ruby tries to backpedal. “I mean, not if you don’t want to. I won’t force you. I just-”

“No, no, I do. Just startled,” Belle coughs.

“I was going to say some suave line like ‘if you really want to get this characterization of me right, we should go on a date.’ I really need to work on my delivery. My Granny says I need a better filter. But, um, anyway, do you  _ want _ to go on a date with me?”

“Yes, I do. After all, how else am I supposed to characterize Ruby Lucas, my accidental werewolf murderer?” Belle smiles, putting her hand on top of Ruby’s.

“Where are you staying?”

“I was going to drive back to New York.”

“At this time of night? You’re crazy.” Belle glances at her watch. It’s only 8:30, but it is a four hour drive without traffic. And she’s exhausted already. “I can get you a room at our inn. My Granny owns the place, and we don’t have a ton of visitors.”

“That’s so kind,” Belle says softly, stifling a yawn.

“I’d do anything for you, m’lady,” Ruby says grandly, giving an exaggerated bow.

“Such a gallant young werewolf,” Belle smiles. “I wish I had thought to bring pajamas, though,” she pouts. She really hadn’t thought much before taking off this morning, determined to beat her writer’s block.

“Oh, we can help with that. Tell you what, I get off in an hour. Go over to the inn, get yourself set up. I’ll come by later with some pajamas and we can hammer out those details for the date,” Ruby smiles. Belle nods.

“Bring your book, and I’ll sign it!” Belle reminds her. Ruby nods before shyly bending over a napkin, scrawling something. She stuffs it into Belle’s hand. Belle glances at it, seeing a phone number scrawled in red pen.

“If you have any questions about the character,” Ruby says defensively. Belle laughs, dropping some cash on the table as she walks out the door. She closes her eyes as she walks, inhaling the brisk northern air. 

A thousand and one thoughts come rushing into her head. The entire plot starts to play in front of her eyes, playing out like a movie. A date gone horribly, horribly wrong. An accidental murder. Running from her past. Running from her problems. A delayed flight to Australia. Seatmates on the plane discussing layovers, travel plans, and fun. Offering a tour of Australia. Becoming travel buddies. Seeing the world. And slowly, very slowly, the Beauty fell for the Beast. 

She grins as she walks, clutching Ruby’s number tightly in her fist. She might have just stumbled upon her greatest story ever.

**Author's Note:**

> Ta da! Thanks for reading! I love a good review, and prompts!


End file.
